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Rappers who have more followers than @Nas: June 22, 2012

In honor of Follow Fridays and poor decisions on Twitter, I bring to you a new feature: Rappers who have more followers than @Nas.

In this feature, I’ll spotlight rappers who have managed to amass more followers than God’s Son, a symbol of hip-hop substance and the barometer against which rap tomfoolery can be measured.

Let us compare and contrast. As of this writing, the man who made Illmatic, and is still making albums, has just shy of 700,000 followers.

Exhibit A.

A respectable number, but not overly impressive, considering that many inferior rappers have followers in the millions.

Thus we present to you, Tyga.

This.

I couldn’t really tell you what Tyga’s music is like, because I’ve never been able to get through an entire song. So when I found out that Tyga has, at this moment, more than 3.3 million followers — one of whom is Nas — I almost lost my lunch.

Obviously, Twitter numbers are largely a measure of notoriety, and as we all know, notoriety in hip-hop has more to do with stunts, stereotypes and affiliations with a hot crew than pure skill.

So it would seem that Tyga’s Twitter numbers are largely a testament to the power of Lil Wayne and the YMCMB brand. And Nas’ numbers are a testament to a career built around longevity as a lyricist, not fleeting fame as a rap mogul’s underling.

Cheers.

In a year or two, we may very well be asking “Tyga who?” and Nas will probably still be on Twitter, hovering near the 1 million follower mark, getting ready to release another dignified album.

I briefly wanted to cry after first seeing these Twitter numbers, but I take comfort knowing that while artists like Tyga come and go, Nas will always be a rap legend.